


Don't you mind about the future

by riverwrenwrites



Series: TUA Creator's Bingo [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Fluff, Gen, Post-Canon, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:49:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24323065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverwrenwrites/pseuds/riverwrenwrites
Summary: TUA Creators Bingo EntryPrompt Filled: Game NightAllison is longing for some kind of normality after saving the world, and her siblings pull together to try and help.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Everyone, Allison Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves
Series: TUA Creator's Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715587
Comments: 12
Kudos: 122





	Don't you mind about the future

It was 1:30pm, and Allison hadn’t left her room yet. She’d locked the door, wrapped the duvet tightly around herself, and she hadn’t stopped crying since 8am. The one perk of losing her voice, she’d discovered, was that she no longer had to try and stifle the sobs with a pillow to avoid any of her siblings hearing her. It had been a week now since they’d saved the world. No big deal really. It was hard, of course it was hard, but they got through it, determined to get back to some kind of normality. It was only now, lying in her childhood bed and staring at the faded magazine clippings taped to the wall, that Allison had realised she had no normality to go back to. 

Patrick and Claire were on the other side of the country, and there were travel restrictions while everyone tried to recover from the whole armageddon thing. She’d thought about booking a private jet, but even if she could get to them she had no idea what she’d say. What they’d say. She was so behind on her therapy now that Patrick probably wouldn’t want her anywhere near them, and even though Luther had done his best to explain to him, and to her therapist, why she couldn’t talk over the phone anymore, they still hadn’t come up with a solution. Claire at least seemed to be enjoying her daily phone call with whichever uncle was closest to hand, and aside from one conversation with Klaus that Allison had to cut short, they’d all gone relatively smoothly so far. But even the calls were tinged with sadness. It killed her that her brothers got to speak to her daughter and she couldn’t, that they were the ones making her laugh and telling her stories, that Allison could hear her voice but Claire couldn’t hear hers. They still hadn’t found a way to explain that her mom couldn’t talk anymore, and might never be able to again. 

The crying had mostly tapered off, and now she just felt empty. Empty because even if she could get home, even if she could see Claire and hold her and stroke her hair, none of it would be permanent. Patrick still had custody, and he could barely look her in the eye the last time they saw each other. One family had been ripped apart, and the other had spent the last week cooped up in a big house trying to awkwardly piece themselves back together. Last night’s dinner had been so uncomfortable that she’d had to leave, preferring the silence of her room over the silence of her brothers and sister sitting around a table exchanging awkward glances and trying to think of something to say. 

She heard footsteps approaching from the end of the hall and could tell it was Luther before he reached the door. Despite how hard he tried to soften his steps, they were still distinctly louder than anybody else in the house. The sound came to a halt, and she couldn’t help but smile at how timidly he knocked on the door. 

“Allison?” He called. “You okay in there?”

Part of her wanted to roll over and ignore him, but she knew she couldn’t stay in there all day. There were at  _ least  _ three people in the house that knew how to pick a lock. Sighing, she slid her feet into her slippers and padded across the floor, cracking the door open and peering out at him. 

Luther’s brow furrowed in concern the moment he saw her, pushing the door open a little wider to talk to her. 

“Hey,” He said softly. “I… Uh… Are you… Did something happen?” 

She shook her head, her eyes falling on the plate of food he was holding. 

“Oh, right.” Luther held the plate out towards her. “I brought your lunch up.”

He chuckled when she took the plate, not needing any words to know what she was thinking as she eyed up the omelette which was somehow burnt and runny at the same time. 

“It was Diego’s turn to cook,” He explained and she nodded in understanding. “I didn’t wanna hurt his feelings, but I uh… I did also bring you some toast.” 

Smiling in place of a thank you, she took the toast and opened the door further to invite him in. The two of them sat on the bed and she sniggered at how far the mattress dipped under Luther’s weight, sending her sliding down into his side. While she nibbled on the toast, Luther filled her in on everything that had happened that morning. Diego and Five got into an argument over cereal brands, Klaus had decided he was going to learn violin, and Vanya accidentally broke a window while trying to teach him. She smiled as he talked, but he seemed to sense the sadness, squeezing her shoulder gently. 

“I know it must be hard not being able to talk to Claire,” He said with a sigh. “And I don’t know how to make it easier.” 

Allison reached for the notepad on her nightstand so she could respond. Her writing speed had improved dramatically over the last few weeks, and it usually took her no more than a few seconds to reply to people now. 

“I miss being part of a family,” She told him and he nodded. 

“Yeah, me too. I don’t think any of us even know  _ how  _ to be a family anymore.” He hung his head. “I’m gonna try and fix this, Alli. I promise.”

He squeezed her hand before he left and she smiled, though she wasn’t entirely convinced he really knew what he was doing, turning on her radio and finishing the rest of her toast. 

The evening approached, and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her siblings despite a venture to the kitchen and the library. It wasn’t unusual for Diego and Five to keep to themselves during the day, but the house seemed strangely silent without Klaus zipping erratically from room to room, or the sound of Vanya’s violin practice. Still, she didn’t think much of it, and it wasn’t until she was back in the kitchen, spreading peanut butter on her fourth helping of toast, that Five made an appearance, making her jump and drop the knife she was holding. 

“Sorry,” He said as she fumbled to pick up the knife. “Luther wants you. He’s in the lounge.” 

Never one to drag a conversation out longer than necessary, Five was gone again in the blink of an eye, leaving Allison to make her own way slowly through their maze of a house to the lounge. She could hear hushed voices as she approached, and when she turned the corner she found all five of them sat on the lounge floor. The couches had been pushed out to make more room, with blankets and cushions spread out to sit on. 

“What?” She signed, resenting the fact that Grace was only able to spend a few minutes each week teaching them some rudimentary signs as kids. 

“This genius thinks he can solve our problems with some board games,” Diego said from where he sat with his arms folded and his back against the couch, nodding over to Luther. 

“Would it kill you to stop being an asshole for one evening?” Luther muttered and he snorted. 

“You think monopoly is gonna make me  _ less  _ of an asshole? You ever played this shit?”

Klaus, who was sprawled out on the floor at Diego’s feet, laughed at that and Luther ignored them both, turning back to Allison. 

“We’re having a game night. A  _ family  _ game night. Because that’s what families do.” 

“It is?” Vanya asked. 

“Since when?” Five said at almost exactly the same time. 

Picking up the notepad that had been set out on a cushion for her, she scribbled down on it and held it up.

“We used to have game nights with Patrick’s family.”

“Well, I’m convinced!” Klaus declared, hopping to his feet. “Try not to cry too hard when I kick your asses at twister.” 

Luther was knocked out almost immediately, completely unable to keep his balance, shortly followed by Five, then Diego, then Allison. They shouldn’t have been surprised that Vanya was proving a worthy opponent for Klaus, considering she once famously won a game of hide and seek by contorting herself into one of their father’s suitcases. It was the most upbeat Allison had seen her family in years, all gathered around cheering Vanya on while Klaus cussed them out. Even Diego seemed to forgo the half dozen grudges he was holding in favour of diligently refereeing to make sure Klaus wasn’t cheating. When Klaus’ arms finally buckled underneath him the room erupted with cheering and shouting. The boys scooped Vanya up and paraded her around the room while Allison fell about laughing and Klaus huffed indignantly. 

“This is bullshit,” He muttered, though she could see he was fighting a smile too. 

The entire tone of the evening changed after that. Once they’d all calmed down again, they all gathered eagerly around and bickered over what to play next. Luther won an intense game of snakes and ladders, Diego beat them all at jenga, and Allison and Klaus won a team game of charades. In the middle of a connect four tournament, Klaus pointed out that Vanya had fallen asleep amongst the pillows, and during the final match between Luther and Five they realised Diego had also passed out with his arms hugging a cushion. 

They were all getting tired, and none of them knew or cared what the time was, but they decided to start a game of cluedo anyway. Allison was so focused that she didn’t notice Luther was asleep until his loud snoring broke the silence, and when she looked up she saw Klaus curled up too, using Luther’s torso as a makeshift pillow. 

“Maybe we should call it a night?” Allison had to shove the notepad right into Five’s face before he looked up from his card. 

“What? No. I’ve almost solved this.” 

She wasn’t sure how Five could have possibly ‘almost solved’ anything when they’d only had two turns each, but she just shrugged, shuffling closer to him and continuing with the game. 

As the minutes passed, the game quickly devolved, and neither of them were making a great deal of sense anymore. Allison had long since given up on making guesses, and Five had slumped against her with his head on her shoulder, the way Claire used to when she was getting too tired, mumbling to himself as he scribbled and crossed things out on his card. 

“Okay,” He said decisively, his head nodding as he tried to stay awake. “It was Mr Green, in the conservatory, with the knife.” 

He snatched the cards triumphantly, only to quickly toss them back across the board with a huff. 

“Shit,” He mumbled. 

“Wrong?” Was all Allison had the energy to write and he nodded.

“It was Miss Scarlet,” He said, pointing an accusing finger over at Klaus. 

Allison sniggered, and barely a minute later she could hear Five snoring beside her. Smiling to herself, she gently moved his head onto a pillow before getting to her feet and padding around the room to throw blankets over each of her siblings. Once she was satisfied they were all comfortable, she grabbed her own pillow and blanket and settled herself amongst them all, and fell asleep surrounded by her family.


End file.
